29 April 2014

My final installment on regional car sales for the UK (I might do Northern Ireland when it become available) simply looks at total figures. I apologise to any Scots who may wonder why only a part of the country appears on the map. That is how it came, and at least you can see where it is.

The regions as discussed already are below, with 2011 census populations next to them. Finally comes the ratio of one car sold per person. For example, in the South East of England, one new car is sold for every 18,977 people.

Each entry is colour coded for North, Middle and South England, with Scotland and Wales with their own colour (woooo).

South East

8,634,750

18,977

West Midlands

5,601,847

20,145

East Midlands

4,533,222

23,889

South West

5,288,935

25,112

Scotland

5,295,403

25,804

East England

5,842,965

29,698

York & Humber

5,283,733

31,980

North West

7,052,177

32,120

North East

2,596,886

33,398

Wales

3,063,456

36,229

London

8,173,941

57,379

UK

61,367,315

28,395

England

50,129,918

27,392

Summary: The South East of England being at the top is no surprise, but the two Midlands I didn't expect so high. Scotland did well, but Wales was as I thought, very low. The three Northern regions didn't do so well, but they do have the best Football teams. Congested London did as expected.

We finally look across the south of England, from Land's End to Dover and the North Sea.

South West: Not an area for large cities but a sizable population nevertheless. Bristol and Plymouth are the largest and Swindon is home to a Honda car factory.

9.5% of all cars sold in England are purchased here, up on recent years. This is the most popular region for Hyundai, Honda and Mitsubishi. Seat is only brand that finds this region its least popular.

10

11

12

13

Sth West

Sales

%

Lyr

2

1

1

1

Ford

28,715

13.6%

8%

1

2

2

2

Vauxhall

22,977

10.9%

26%

3

3

3

3

VW

15,675

7.4%

-1%

5

6

4

4

BMW

15,233

7.2%

51%

8

4

5

5

Nissan

13,185

6.3%

32%

4

5

6

6

Audi

12,562

6.0%

27%

15

14

7

7

Hyundai

10,927

5.2%

19%

Total

210,618

18%

South East: This is the most populous area of the UK, with cities such as Brighton & Hove, Portsmouth, Southampton and the large town of Milton Keynes. The BMW Mini is made here at Oxford.

One in five (20.4%) of all cars sold in England are bought in this region. Suzuki, Fiat, Mazda and Dacia do poorly, but Audi, Mercedes, Land Rover, Seat and Jaguar do better here than anywhere else in the UK. It's the only region that doesn't have at least one Asian brand in the top seven.

10

11

12

13

Sth East

Sales

%

Lyr

2

2

1

1

Ford

50,624

11.1%

7%

3

1

2

2

VW

45,596

10.0%

-1%

1

3

3

3

Vauxhall

44,607

9.8%

18%

4

4

4

4

Audi

38,427

8.4%

5%

6

6

5

5

Mercedes

36,171

7.9%

34%

5

5

6

6

BMW

22,717

5.0%

9%

7

8

8

7

Peugeot

20,980

4.6%

13%

Total

455,017

11%

London: The wealthiest part of the UK, but not that strong for car sales due to its congestion and public transport alternatives. It is comprised of 33 districts.

Car sales account for just 6.4% of all English sales. brands more popular here than anywhere else in the top 30 or so makes are Porsche, Lexus and smart. Those least popular in all of Britain are Peugeot, Citroen, Hyundai and Chevrolet.

10

11

12

13

London

Sales

%

Lyr

1

1

1

1

Ford

19,374

13.6%

16%

2

2

2

2

VW

13,769

9.7%

1%

3

3

3

3

Vauxhall

13,063

9.2%

38%

6

6

4

4

Nissan

10,328

7.3%

19%

7

5

6

5

Audi

9,811

6.9%

22%

4

4

5

6

Mercedes

9,052

6.4%

10%

5

7

7

7

BMW

7,934

5.6%

10%

Total

142,455

12%

Data source: Thanks to the DFT.

Summary: As these three regions - especially the South East and London - have a disproportionate amount of the nations wealth, premium marques do well.

To quickly access other regions in this series for 2013, simply click on the following regions of Mid England,North England,Wales, and Scotland. Otherwise they and earlier years are found under the label 'Nation - UK region'. Northern Ireland processes its own data (very slowly) and is not included in the DFT statistics.

27 April 2014

Across the middle of England, there is diversity in car buying habits as you will see. The area of Middle England goes from the Welsh border in the west to the North Sea in the East.

West Midlands: The main city of this region is Birmingham, England's second biggest city, itself part of a larger conurbation. Coventry is a well known city within this area as well. This region too is famous with regard to the industrial revolution, with the Iron Bridge Gorge A UNESCO World Heritage site. Once a major car making centre of the UK, only Land Rover and Jaguar remain.

One thing different with this region is how Vauxhall consistently is the big selling brand. Another is how well PSA do here. It is the only region in England where Audi is not in the top seven, a marque I view as over rated anyway. VW does more poorly here than anywhere else as well. Many other brands that don't do well here. They are Toyota, Suzuki, Kia, Skoda, Seat and Porsche.

Overall, West Midlands has 12.5% of total car sales in England, down on last year but a fairly typical percentage on recent years. It has quite a unique car buying pattern compared to other regions in the UK.

10

11

12

13

West Mid

Sales

%

Lyr

1

1

1

1

Vauxhall

36,449

13.1%

-5%

2

2

2

2

Ford

30,257

10.9%

6%

5

3

3

3

BMW

23,601

8.5%

-15%

3

4

4

4

Peugeot

20,605

7.4%

-5%

10

8

7

5

Citroen

20,093

7.2%

31%

6

6

6

6

Nissan

20,003

7.2%

1%

4

5

5

7

VW

19,079

6.9%

-6%

Total

278,083

1%

East Midlands: Citiessuch as Derby, Nottingham and Leicester are found here, and Toyota has a plant near Derby. It is known for fine walking in the Peak District and agriculture in Lincolnshire.

Not only is Vauxhall the strongest hereof anywhere in the UK, But Ford is at its weakest, even struggling to hold second place. It is the best region for VW and Skoda in the UK. Those not popular in comparison with elsewhere are Nissan, BMW, Renault, MINI, Mazda and Dacia. It has 8.5% of total English sales, down a bit on a few years ago.

10

11

12

13

East Mid

Sales

%

Lyr

1

1

1

1

Vauxhall

34,848

18.4%

12%

2

3

3

2

Ford

22,616

11.9%

30%

3

2

2

3

VW

20,092

10.6%

2%

6

5

6

4

Mercedes

10,290

5.4%

13%

8

7

7

5

Audi

10,208

5.4%

16%

4

6

5

6

Peugeot

9,103

4.8%

-7%

5

4

4

7

Toyota

7,926

4.2%

-23%

Total

189,759

11%

East England: This area starts with East Anglia in the north, down to the London commuter belt in the south. The majority of the people in this region live in the county of Essex. Places such as Norwich, Ipswich and Luton are within its borders.

Luton was once the home of Vauxhall cars, but only vans are made there now. 8.8% of cars sold in England were purchased here, a consistent percentage. Ford is massive, although it did lose market share this year. German brands are popular, with BMW in fine form. Alfa Romeos do better here than anywhere else, perhaps the sporty image suiting the Essex reputation. Skodas are less liked here than in other UK regions, perhaps for the same reason but in reverse.

10

11

12

13

Sales

%

Lyr

1

1

1

1

Ford

44,887

22.8%

4%

2

2

2

2

Vauxhall

16,913

8.6%

16%

3

3

3

3

VW

13,509

6.9%

19%

4

4

4

4

Audi

11,640

5.9%

18%

8

7

6

5

BMW

11,072

5.6%

51%

5

6

5

6

Nissan

8,518

4.3%

15%

11

5

7

7

Mercedes

7,969

4.1%

10%

Total

196,743

13%

Data source: Thanks to the DFT.

Summary: These regions I combined for geographical reasons, but the East area is very different to the two Midland regions. Vauxhall's westerly popularity is very different to Ford's in the East.

To quickly access other regions in this series for 2013, simply click on the following regions of South England,North England,Wales, and Scotland. Otherwise they and earlier years are found under the label 'Nation - UK region'. Northern Ireland processes its own data and is not included in the DFT statistics.

25 April 2014

Ay up, we're in the North of England now. A more working class part of England known for people being direct and forthright in speech. It is broken down into three regions as shown in the picture, North West, North East and Yorkshire & Humberside.

North West: This area goes from Cumbria in the north down to Cheshire in the south. The two main cities are Manchester and Liverpool. Both Vauxhall and Bentley have car plants here. It was a major part of the industrial revolution with all that brought and home to many of my ancestors too.

As far as car sales go, this area represents 9.9% of total car sales in England, although well down on the 11.9% of 2009. Ford and Vauxhall are always top, consistent with the UK as a whole. Volvos sell in smaller numbers here (as a percentage) than any other UK region.

10

11

12

13

N West

Sales

%

Lyr

1

1

1

1

Ford

33,300

15.2%

11%

2

2

2

2

Vauxhall

23,162

10.5%

9%

3

3

3

3

VW

19,439

8.9%

20%

4

4

4

4

Nissan

15,438

7.0%

11%

7

5

5

5

Audi

14,439

6.6%

24%

5

6

6

6

BMW

11,488

5.2%

9%

8

7

7

7

Toyota

10,019

4.6%

13%

Total

219,555

13%

North East: This area has three large conurbations, Teeside (main city Middlesbrough), Wearside (Sunderland) and Tyneside (Newcastle). Nissan has a large plant in Sunderland, making it the biggest car producing area in the UK.

The North East makes up just 3.5% of all sales in England. Not surprisingly Nissan is a strong brand here, although it is nationally. It's success is a testament to the skill and hard working ethic of the people of this area. The plant runs 24 hours a day. Audi has been gaining well in the region (I won't even go there). Mercedes and Land Rover are less popular here than any other UK region.

10

11

12

13

N East

Sales

%

Lyr

2

2

1

1

Ford

10,567

13.6%

4%

1

1

2

2

Vauxhall

10,145

13.0%

11%

3

3

3

3

Nissan

6,475

8.3%

15%

4

4

4

4

VW

5,958

7.7%

25%

11

8

9

5

Audi

3,622

4.7%

30%

9

9

6

6

Hyundai

3,381

4.3%

15%

10

11

7

7

BMW

3,320

4.3%

15%

Total

77,755

13%

Yorkshire & Humberside: This mostly industrial area is famous for its coal mines, the origin of crucible and stainless steels, and the marine chronometer used by Capt Cook (also from the area). My preferred sport of Rugby League was born here too. The largest cities are Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and Hull.

Regional sales compared to all England make up 7.4% of the total, well down on the 7.9% of 2012. BMW and Mini are stronger in Y & H than anywhere else in the UK. Land Rover is very popular too but not shown below. Fiat isn't popular though compared to other regions.

10

11

12

13

York & H

Sales

%

Lyr

1

1

2

1

Ford

21,124

12.8%

0%

2

2

1

2

BMW

18,749

11.3%

-16%

3

3

3

3

Vauxhall

14,688

8.9%

12%

4

4

4

4

VW

14,409

8.7%

14%

7

5

5

5

Audi

9,289

5.6%

13%

5

7

6

6

Toyota

7,133

4.3%

4%

10

9

8

7

Nissan

7,051

4.3%

11%

Total

165,219

5%

Data source: Thanks to the DFT.

Summary: I have a soft spot for the North of England. It has scenic beauty, its people hardy and resourceful, and its contribution to the world make it an area of great achievement.

To quickly access other regions in this series for 2013, simply click on the following regions of South England,Mid England,Wales, and Scotland. Otherwise they and earlier years are found under the label 'Nation - UK region'. Northern Ireland processes its own data and is not included in the DFT statistics.